Advantages of Working as a Temp

It’s easy to develop career blinders. You get so narrowly focused on one method of building a career that you ignore important opportunities just outside your frame of reference. This is why people often miss the value of temporary work. They get so fixated on a permanent position that they lose sight of an excellent way to drive their careers forward.  

Many workers have an irrational aversion to temp assignments, viewing them as potential dead ends. They perceive these gigs as the kinds of jobs you should only take if you desperately need work. This is a mistake. Rather than being dead-end positions, these opportunities can often provide the gateway to faster development and new possibilities. 

Still skeptical? Well, here are some of the major advantages to working as a temp: 

Fill Up Your Resume 

Gaining experience is critical for pushing your career forward. Looking for work, you easily stumble into the age-old employment trap: how do you get experience if no one will hiring you because you don’t have enough experience? 

Temp positions can offer an escape. You can build up work experience in smaller chunks. These assignments give you an entry point for companies and particular positions, allowing you to fill out your resume and, eventually, land even better opportunities.  

Master New Skills 

You can think about the experience in two ways. In one sense, they exist as line-items on your resume. In another, the jobs you hold allow you to build up valuable skills that you can apply in future situations. 

Let’s put it this way: filling out your resume will help you get hired for your next job, while learning new skills will help you excel once you get there.  

Temp positions offer a great opportunity to pick up fresh competencies. These can include technical skills, like learning how to use various software platforms. At the same time, you can also develop soft skills, things like leadership and communication, which you can apply anywhere as your career unfolds. 

Restart or Redirect Your Career 

Most careers don’t develop in a straight line. Think about it: you start working in your teens or early twenties. You don’t retire until your 60s (or even later). It’s a decades-long journey, with plenty of detours and cul-de-sacs along the way. 

You may have stepped away from professional life to raise a family, or go back to school, or take care of a sick relative. Or you may have decided to switch to a new career or reorient toward a new industry. Whatever the cause, getting back into professional life or changing course in the middle of your career can represent challenging situations. 

A temp position can ease the process. The ability to fill-out your experience and learn new skills make temporary assignments the perfect bridges to a new phase of your career. 

Less Commitment, Less Risk 

Many employers offer temp-to-hire positions. They bring in a temp, with the idea that they might turn the assignment into a full-time position if things work out. It allows the firm to get to know the new worker and maintain flexibility while they expand.  

Temp positions offer you the same benefits. Think of these assignments as having a “money-back guarantee.” You get to know the employer and see if things are a good fit before you commit to something more permanent. 

Ready to try out a temp assignment? A strong staffing firm, like SmartTalent, can get you there. They will help you expand your work history and build your skill base. 

Contact SmartTalent today to learn more.